Women and older voters are shifting away from Linda McMahon, the Republican candidate in
Connecticut's U.S. Senate race, giving U.S. Rep. Christopher Murphy, the Democrat, a 49 - 43
percent likely voter lead, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.

This compares to the results of an October 4 survey by the independent Quinnipiac
(KWIN-uh-pe-ack) University, showing McMahon with 48 percent to Murphy with 47 percent.

Voters over 55 years old shift from a 48 - 48 percent split to 51 - 42 percent for Murphy.

A total of 62 percent of Connecticut likely voters have a "strongly unfavorable" or
"somewhat unfavorable" opinion of this Senate race in general.

The race remains fluid as 11 percent of Murphy voters and 14 percent of McMahon
voters say they might change their mind in the next 13 days.

"It's d‚j… vu all over again in the Connecticut Senate race. As we hit the final stretch of
the campaign, Linda McMahon is beginning to fade, as she did in her 2010 run against Richard
Blumenthal," said Douglas Schwartz, PhD, director of the Quinnipiac University poll.

"Has she hit her ceiling? She took 43 percent of the vote in 2010, losing by 12 points to
Blumenthal. Two weeks before the election, she is back at 43 percent."

"One of McMahon's key strengths had been that voters liked her more than Murphy,"
Schwartz added. "Voters are evenly divided on Murphy but have a net negative opinion of
McMahon. After improving her image from two years ago, her favorability rating has fallen
back to about where she was in 2010.

"After being neck and neck among voters over 55, Murphy has opened up a 9-point lead
among this age group. This could be in part due to Murphy's 16-point advantage among this
age group on who would do a better job on Medicare and Social Security, which have become
hot issues in this campaign."

Presidential Race

President Barack Obama buries Gov. Mitt Romney in the run for the White House,
leading 55 - 41 percent, compared to 54 - 42 percent October 4.

Obama leads 60 - 36 percent among women and gets 49 percent of men to Romney's 46
percent. The President leads among every subgroup except Republicans.

Only 5 percent of Romney voters and 6 percent of Obama voters say they might change
their mind.

"President Barack Obama is running stronger than Murphy in Connecticut, holding
steady with a 14 point lead over Gov. Mitt Romney. The President's coattails are helping
Murphy," Schwartz said.

From October 19 - 22, Quinnipiac University surveyed 1,412 likely voters with a margin
of error of +/- 2.6 percentage points. Live interviewers call landlines and cell phones.

The Quinnipiac University Poll conducts public opinion surveys in New York, New
Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, and the nation as a public service and
for research.
For more data or RSS feed- http://www.quinnipiac.edu/polling.xml, call (203) 582-5201,
or follow us on Twitter.

1. If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and Mitt Romney the Republican, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward Obama or Romney? (Table includes leaners and early voters)

TREND: If the election for President were being held today, and the candidates were Barack Obama the Democrat and Mitt Romney the Republican, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward Obama or Romney? (Table includes leaners and early voters)

7. If the election for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Chris Murphy the Democrat and Linda McMahon the Republican, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward Murphy or McMahon? (Table includes leaners and early voters)

TREND: If the election for United States Senator were being held today and the candidates were Chris Murphy the Democrat and Linda McMahon the Republican, for whom would you vote? (If undecided) As of today, do you lean more toward Murphy or McMahon? (Table includes leaners and early voters)

28a. Overall, do you have a favorable or unfavorable impression of this year's US Senate election between Linda McMahon and Chris Murphy? COMBINED WITH: (If favorable/unfavorable) Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat?

29a. Generally speaking, what do you think is the better qualification for being a U.S. senator, previous experience in business, or previous experience in politics? COMBINED WITH: Do you feel that way strongly or somewhat?

TREND: Generally speaking, what do you think is the better qualification for being a U.S. senator, previous experience in business, or previous experience in politics? COMBINED WITH: Do you feel that way strongly, or somewhat?

49. How concerned are you, if at all, about the amount of her own money that McMahon is spending on her election campaign; are you very concerned about this, somewhat concerned, not so concerned or not concerned at all?

TREND: How concerned are you, if at all, about the amount of her own money that McMahon is spending on her election campaign; are you very concerned about this, somewhat concerned, not so concerned or not concerned at all?